01 Page 4 -The Michigan Daily-- Thursday, March 26, 1992 d(it()r ini Chief 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 764 - 0552 MATI HIEW D. RE NNIE Opinion Edilors YAEL CITRO GEOFFREY EARLE AMITAVA MAZUMDAR Edited and Managed by Students at the University of Michigan Unsigmed editorials represent a inajority of the Daily's Edlitorial Board. All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. Spike Lee does the wrong thing Spike Lee, the iconoclastic Black film-maker students. Swho has prompted heated debate over racial Lee, who is currently working on a film about issues across the country, will be speaking on the civil rights activist Malcolm X, has become an campus next month. Unlike many of the speeches important figure in Hollywood, as both an insider at the University, however, Lee's - - - -- --and a critic. His films have received appearance will not be free. a great deal of critical acclaim and People who want to hear the film- financial success. maker will have to pay $6.50 just to Surely Lee has earned enough get in the door. The justification for money charging movie-goers $6.00 ticket price: Lee, who's fame has per film that he doesn't need to hit been spiraling since the release of his fans with a double burden and his film Do the Right Thing, carries charge them to hear him speak. a $15,000 price tag. Moreover, speeches serve a differ- In an unusual feat of coopera- ent function than do movies and tion, theBlackStudent Union, Hillel, other paid events. the Inter Cooperative Council, and In a university setting, students the University Activities Center have do not have to pay to hear a profes- joined forces to put up the money to sor give a lecture outside of the bring Lee to campus. This assort-- classroom. It is the nature of a ment of strange bedfellows is a good university to conduct intelligent dis- sign considering the deteriorating cussions over critical issues. Lee condition of race relations on cam- should come to the University and pus, and Lee certainly has the right add to the debate without needing to carge whatever he wants for his oe shid$d1aveO00to servces.No ne soul hav topay t But while Lee has a valuable message - one have for this type of intellectual experience, espe- which all students should be entitled to hear - it cially if it concerns the topic of race relations, is discouraging that he would be so concerned with which Lee finds so important he addresses it in all earning a profit. A $6.50 ticket price is enough to of his films. discourage even some of the most avid fans from The next time Lee comes to town, we hope he attending the speech, and it effectively and un- does the right thing, instead of doing what is fairly passes the cost of Lee's $15,000 speech on to profitable. 'The school of LSA announced last week that it Gov. John Engler has vowed not to cut higher ..will eliminate one of its associate dean posi- education. Technically, he has remained true to his tions because of budget constraints. One of the pledge. But Engler refuses to allow University other associate deans will take up the responsibili- funding to increase even with the rate of inflation, ties of the old position, and will handle both so in effect, the University suffers a small cut each undergraduate education and long-range planning. year. While it is discouraging that economic condi- In order to keep pace with a stagnant budget, tions are such that the University must make cut- something has to be cut. It is far better to get rid of backs, if the cuts must come, it is best to take them an associate dean position than to cut an important out of the bloated administration, class or an important academic department. One For years, the University's bureaucracy has has to wonder why, if LSA can suddenly live multiplied at an almost exponential rate. Dur"ig without an associate, it hired one in the first place? the 1980s, the number of University administra- The LSA administration may have to struggle tors increased 28 percent, while the number of with only four, instead of the five associate deans faculty positions increased by only 7.1 percent, it currently employs, but that is what associate and student enrollment increased a mere 1.8 per- deans are best at - figuring out how to reshuffle cent. Including other hirings in medical and re- the administration and keep themselves busy. search departments, administrative growth was Who knows? Perhaps the University will hire actually 47.7 percent. For years, as the University some more associates to study how the associates receivedincreased funding, it channeled that money -deal with the loss of one of their associates. But into the Fleming building instead of into the class- that's what the University of Michigan, Inc. is all room. Now that the money is gone, the University about. must make some tough choices. Kennedy:'Ido.' Does he? ... T HIS HiJi'T Lfs1 5 E E, 44As o P.TH E GLAZED LOOP.tC IS LFT- 1GYE. 'THAT 5:7oN~E WAS F~/: -H= gi&rT L> .7T-1I cNE WA SP-cOI 'THE EX-gEME A~rp2SS/oA-, - r r "- . o N H EGRo ..= ND fli. cT nl, £.4k4 FcF. TH l1 + / . -'Ti~ E Tiwr1ircs4Et7Sr~-TALLI N6- THE OFFIC-ERs - /Asb -rHS oNV .. 5- - 0 IMYEWS I; I r Al: POLICE F X F> F-r T - Trt 1Et -?I'H WAqS JL IN TF'iE'ERol~t4EY IKING- ARRE'T' .411:4::.." ::"1::.1::. :4YL"YYL"'n:: ~: ':iY."h+ ""M.:4 :.":: :4:+W .". . 1LnEn:I :"."n'::::1.iTi11IE R S.i1 : " ... n . ". ... .h. .Ln...+1n.4nn u 01 Homosexality contributes to decay To the Daily: The reaction of Bennett Seacrist's article of 1/28/92 has been so disturbing to me, that I feel I must respond. True, Mr. Seacrist was incorrect in stating that man is the only species in which homosexual relations occur. The point is that such sexually deviant behavior within the animal kingdom does not justify its existence amongst humans. Have we not been called to a higher plateau of moral conduct relative to animals which act solely on instinct? Ms. Hauck made a mistake incorporating scripture into her argument. The Bible unequivocally condemns same-sex physical relationships as immoral and shameful (read Romans 1:25-32). Her implication that Ruth and Naomi were lesbian lovers is not only sacrilegious, but belies her inability to comprehend a deep friendship and self-sacrificing love based on a common faith, not on a sexual relationship. Homosexuality is a sexual preference possessed by some in our society. This does not condone its practice, however. Just as alcoholics or compulsive gamblers are expected to resist their respective weaknesses, so homosexualityemust be resisted. I do not feel frightened by homosexuality. I simply feel it is wrong and is contributing factor to the decay of our country's moral structure. Wouldn't the world be a better place if instead of appealing to whiptail lizards and monkeys for direction on acceptable behavior, we looked to the revealed word of our Creator? Daniel Styles Engineering graduate student Daily hypocrisy To the Daily: Many thanks for the special slick-paper non-recyclable insert and throw-away (3/16/92). All your editorials about our environment and social responsi- bility go straight to hell when you do your weekly money-making stunt. Don't you think the Daily could afford to be a bit more thoughtful? Maybe you guys should have a principle or two? Maybe an environmental policy of your own? Thanks. 0l Bert G. Hornback English professor Tyson victim of racist system To the Daily: I was dumbfounded when I. read Vince Wilk's letter in the daily ("Race Not An Issue," 3/11/ 92). Blind ignorance: such as that displayed by Wilk, is one of the main reasons why there are so many problems confronting African Americans and whites. I would first like to address Mr. Wilk's opinion on the Mike Tyson trial in comparison to the William Kennedy Smith trial. A person would have to be a complete fool or a racist to believe there was not a degree of racism or bias involved in the Tyson trial. In both cases there were discrepancies in the women's stories, so why was Tyson sentenced and Kennedy acquitted? Simply because Tyson is a Black male who dame from virtually nothing. Smith, however, was born into the Kennedy family, and in case no one had noticed, the Kennedy family is basically immune from American laws. I feel it necessary to remind the readers of the case when Edward Kennedy, while driving drunk, drove into Chappaquidick Bay, killing the young girl that was in the car with him. Of course he was acquitted as well. If Mr. Wilk wishes to speak on accept- able and unacceptable behavior maybe we should discuss the behavior of the young lady Tyson supposedly raped. Mike Tyson made it clear to her what he wanted. In plain words he said he wanted to f--k her. They had kissed several times and she went to his room in the early hours of the morning. What other reason could she have has for going to his room? I feel Mike Tyson is the victim of a racist judicial system. It makes no difference that the jury was Black. What does make a difference is that the United States legal system is run by white males who are able to manipulate juries regardless of the race of the people on the jury. Oh, by the way, there are Blacks who are racist against Blacks, just as there are whites who are racist against Blacks. Due to length restrictions I am forced to cut this letter short, but I do have one more thing to say to Mr. Wilk: you must not refer to the leaders of the African- American community as foolish! Just as George Washington, Abe Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are your leaders and hold great importance to you, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and many other important African Americans are my leaders and hold monumental importance to me. Michael Davis LSA first-year student 10 wo years ago, GQ Magazine published a devastatingly detailed account of Sen. Ed- ward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) personal life. The senator's exploits, reported GQ, have included sexual encounters in public places with enough alcohol to available to please the most booze- mongering fraternity. But there seems to be good news for the Kennedy family and the Kennedy reputation. The senator has tenta- tively agreed to groundI his high- flying playboy lifestyle and an- nouncedhisplans to marry anestab- N lished Washington lawyer. The scandal at the Kennedy es- tate in Palm Beach prompted . 'Kennedy to publicly recognize the "faults in the conduct of (his) pri- vate life' in a speech to the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Kennedy seems to have finally rec- ognized that his playboy reputation has interfered with his ability to meet his responsibilities as a U.S. Senator. The senator sat conspicuously quiet during the Clarence Thomas hearings, despite the fact thathe has been one ofthe Senate's most ardent supporters of women's rights. In light of the accident at Chappequidick -- where a young woman was killed when the senator's car drove off a bridge into the bay - and the Palm Beach scandal, Kennedy would have looked ri- diculous speaking against Thomas' nomination because of alleged sexual harassment. Hopefully, the upcoming marriage will help the senator rebuild a life more becoming of an elected official. Currently, Kennedy is considered the most powerful liberal in the Senate, often referred to as the King of Capitol Hill. His 30 years in the upper chamber has allowed him to build a record any representative would envy. Friend and colleague Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah) has referred to Kennedy as one of the five most influential senators in history. His performance will only improve if he can regain the respect of the American people. Considering his record, many may be skeptical about Kennedy's ability to commit to a single part- ner. But things look bright. His fi- ancee is an established lawyer who neither needs Kennedy money (the senator is worth some $40 million) nor Kennedy fame. There may ac- tually be something deep to this relationship. Imagine. For those who are supporters of the Massachusetts senator, this mar- riage could even be a step toward the White House. Kennedy proved in 1980 that he could never win the Democratic nomination, primarily be- cause of memories of Chappequidick. This mar- riage could bring renewed respectability in the eyes of the American people and new chance to prove his electability. Could it be? President Kennedy in 1996? Imagine. by Judd Winick Melmg ~tbuilt throughrpesign Patrick Buchanan has consis- tently won a significant proportion of votes in the Republican presi- dential primaries with the slogan "America First." But the year 2000 is just around the corner and there is every indication that the United ~**~ti** States will limp into the next mil- : lennium well be- hind other first- ' world countries, notjusteconomi- cally, as every- one fears, but in terms of social Elizabeth Cole. policy as well. For years the United States has stood with the Republic of South Africa at the back of the line for progressive social movement. These countries share the distinction of being the only industrialized na- tions without some form ofnational health insurance, for example. But recent events suggest that ourcoun- terpart may be slowly advancing down the road toward ajust society without us. Whites in South Africa went to the polls last week to determine whether their constitution should be reformed to extend power to the nation's Black majority. About 70 similar question. Last December, he posed this hypothetical to the electorate: "If we had to take a million immigrants in, say Zulus, next year, or Englishmen, and put them in Virginia, what group would be easier to assimilate?" Buchanan will put America first," he says, "we mean our Western heritage is going to be handed down to future genera- tions, not dumped onto some land- fill called multi-culturalism." The Buchanan campaign is a backlash against minority group America has always absorbed foreign peoples into its population, but these immigrants were largely forced to cast off their native cultures in return for full citizenship. constructed this scenario to sug- gest that the absorption of non- white peoples and their cultures into the American mainstream is unnatural, arguing that Europeans are most similar to "us," and of course are more welcome neigh- bors. In truth, America has always absorbed foreign peoples into its population, but these immigrants wex largely forced to cast off their native cultures in return for full citizenship. Blacks and Native Americans, coming under the ju- risdiction of the U.S. government involuntarily, were not even ac- corded this option, and were essen- tially denied any political power whatsoever. The illusion of a homogenous 1, f . . r±- - - - --. 11 A t~n Af demands forjust representation. His supporters would erase the real con- tributions of Blacks, Asians and other non-white peoples who lived, worked and died in this country from the heritage that we will bequeath to our children. They are the real his- torical revisionists. And is it merely a coincidence that he chose the Zulus, a group indigenous to South Africa, to personify the feared "other?" Or was thecommentmeant to recall a time not so long ago, when Blacks living within the bor- ders of this country were neverthe- less socially, politically and eco- nomically locked outside of it by a system of apartheid known as Jim Crow? In Michigan's presidential pri- mary last week, 25 percent of Re- Nuts and Bolts UH uH,UwN,. U .* RAN DS-EE !Q!.I AAAIA 4A A -- OS'"RT u4UHU .Sitt fl= jiiK3i5jIT BAD? PU~ INTO MY-QA~T F~ Pim ME. jZ Aso our N-a . 1 I I I